A Parents' Guide to Generation I

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Parents Not Concerned About Young Kids Media Use

According to a recently released Northwestern University study, the majority of parents in the U.S. are largely unconcerned about their young children’s media use despite 70% of parents saying that smartphones and tablets, aka “digital babysitters” don’t make parenting easier.

The study, “Parenting in the Age of Digital Technology,” also challenges the assumption that smartphones and tablets have become today’s “go-to” parenting tools. Instead, parents say they are more likely to turn to toys or activities, books, or TV when trying to keep kids occupied.

More from the report:

— With the exception of video games, parents think more positively than negatively about the impact of media (TV, computers and mobile devices) on children’s reading and math skills and their creativity.

— Parents’ most consistent concern about digital media is their negative impact on children’s physical activity.

— Parents view video games more negatively than TV, computers or mobile devices. Parents rated video games as more likely to have a negative effect on children’s academic skills, attention span, creativity, social skills, behavior and sleep than any other medium.

— Parents view computers as less harmful to their kids than TV or mobile devices.